Every organization with employees knows that one of the most costly expenses of running a business is the worker’s compensation insurance premium.

While some things are difficult to control such as the assigned workers’ comp classifications or rates, other things such as safety training can help minimize overall costs. Risk management and loss control programs can help limit claims, but not all claims can be prevented. Accidents or claims can affect your company’s premium because they impact the Experience Modification Rating (X-Mod).

There are several factors used to create the X-Mod. A critical factor used to help calculate the X Mod is the Unistat Report. The Unistat Report is filed by your worker’s compensation insurance carrier to the Worker’s Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) to calculate your X-Mod. The Unistat Report is an annual report of actual and expected claim expenses associated with a Worker’s Compensation Policy.

When an employee is injured and the claim is opened, an estimate of the total claim value (present and future) is made by your insurer. The first time that a worker’s compensation claim is valued for unit stat reporting is 18 months after the policy inception. This 18 month value is reported on a “first level” Unit Stat Report, which is submitted to the WCIRB two (2) months after the valuation date, or 20 months after the policy inception month. Claims that remain open as of the first report are required to be valued and reported again 12 months later. This process can continue until all claims are closed or for a total of 10 reports. Usually only data contained in the first three (3) reports is used for experience rating purposes.

For this reason it is important to have good dialogue with your worker’s compensation claim professional and try to close as many claims as possible before the Unistat filing. Call us if we can be of any assistance. We are here to help.

For more information click here:
http://www.wcirb.com/guide-to-workers-compensation/experience-rating/usr

This article is intended for informational purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice